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“This does put a damper on our plans for the night, though,” I said.
“Hey,” Troy called, interrupting before Axel could say anything. He hurried our way with another man on his heels. Someone with the fire department, I assumed. Maybe a cop.
Axel released me then grabbed my hand. We met the pair halfway.
“Yeah?” Axel bit out.
“This is Officer Kelly,” Troy said and looked to the man.
“We can’t confirm without an investigation, but as far as we can tell now, the fire was intentionally set,” he reported. “Our investigator is on his way out to collect samples, but the broken bottles, strong scent in the kitchen area, and burn patterns are pretty good indicators. The fire and accelerant caught the upholstery and took it from there.”
“Like Molotov cocktails?” Axel asked. “That’s pretty…low tech.”
“Don’t need a bunch of tech to do much damage if you’re motivated and willing to get up close and personal with the work. Now, arson is usually for profit or from anger.”
“Anger,” Axel repeated quietly. He looked around, before again yelling, “Has anyone seen Darius or Marta?”
“I saw him fifteen minutes, maybe a half hour, before I came to find you,” Quill cut in from where he’d been lingering with some of the other drivers and their families. “To tell the truth, I don’t think I ever saw him haul ass like that. I thought he was just mad from Teddy coming in second when the driver he fired could have won for him. When I saw him, I thought he was headed toward his trailer, but now that I think of it, he was going the wrong way.”
“What way?” Axel demanded.
“Toward the gate.”
I put my arms around Axel as he sagged. As pissed as he’d been at his uncle, I knew he didn’t want to believe the man could have done this. No one wanted to think that badly of a relative. Deep down, he’d probably hoped no one had seen Darius.
However, his voice was a near-feral growl as he relayed everything he knew to a pair of police officers on the scene. They said they’d be checking on security footage and asking anyone who might have information to come forward. The security cameras weren’t near the wrecked motorhome, though, so I had my doubts about how helpful those would be.
“Fuck, kid,” Troy said after the cops walked away to canvass the bystanders. “You really are trouble.”
“Too much trouble?” Axel asked, his posture tensing.
“Fuck, no. Did you see that guy on the track today, kicking ass and taking names. I’d be a damn idiotanda fool to let him go anywhere—except to the next race, in my car. Let’s get you to a hotel, so you can get some rest—are you both okay? Do either of you need a doctor?”
“We’re okay,” Axel answered, and I heard the relief in his tone. Or maybe, I just felt it as he relaxed. Either way, I nodded in agreement when he peered into my eyes.
He glanced at the remains of our home away from home again.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Stuff can be replaced,” Troy said, echoing what I’d said earlier. “You two can’t. Let’s get you to a hotel—”
“I’ll take them,” Floyd said, stepping in. “I was at my hotel, and one of the guys came to tell me what happened.” He glanced over at where the firefighters still worked to wrap up things. “Damn. She was a good rig.”
“We’ll get another one,” Axel said. “This time, you can help design the front end since you’ll be driving it.” He looked at me. “And you can make the rest of it any way you want.”
“I don’t care about that—”
Floyd blew out a breath, interrupting. “Don’t say that. When you’re on the road most of the year, you’ll care. We’ll get the security system mounted right away—”
“Wait!” This time, it was Axel interrupting. “Did you install them? On that one?” He nodded toward the old RV.
“Well, yeah. As soon as they arrived. It’s all set up so movement triggers the cameras. I put in three small surveillance cameras—two on the outside and the one on the doorway. The feeds go to a cloud server I can access from my laptop.”
“So…if someone set the fire, it will be in the feeds?” I asked.
Floyd smiled wide, realization dawning. “Sure as hell will.”
“Gotcha, Uncle Darius,” Axel muttered.
